Cisco Systems has announced a new channel partner program to promote its Linksys division products to small businesses. Most of the technical equipment buying decisions for the SMB market are made through outside consultants which forces the Ciscos of the world to sell through a network of partners. The company that does the best job convincing parters to push their products wins.
To encourage its partners, Linksys will be offering a new program that offers lead-generation support and market development funds. Cisco will also be trying to convince their resellers to take its higher priced competitors like HP, 3Com, Netgear and D-Link off their roster and focus solely on Linksys. How the company plans on executing this strategy is still unclear.
A challenge facing Cisco is that Linksys is seen more as a consumer or SOHO play. Despite having a full roster of products, Linksys solutions are not usually considered as options for SMBs. It will be an uphill battle to get SMBs to look at Linksys as a viable alternative to the more entrenched players. By the same token, the Cisco brand is seen as being for big business only. Can Cisco narrow the gap and get some SMB market penetration?
The answer will lie in an effective partnership strategy. Their new channel program is scheduled to be announced on June 5th at their Connected Office Day event. Time will tell if they new incentives are good enough to propel them forward.
To encourage its partners, Linksys will be offering a new program that offers lead-generation support and market development funds. Cisco will also be trying to convince their resellers to take its higher priced competitors like HP, 3Com, Netgear and D-Link off their roster and focus solely on Linksys. How the company plans on executing this strategy is still unclear.
A challenge facing Cisco is that Linksys is seen more as a consumer or SOHO play. Despite having a full roster of products, Linksys solutions are not usually considered as options for SMBs. It will be an uphill battle to get SMBs to look at Linksys as a viable alternative to the more entrenched players. By the same token, the Cisco brand is seen as being for big business only. Can Cisco narrow the gap and get some SMB market penetration?
The answer will lie in an effective partnership strategy. Their new channel program is scheduled to be announced on June 5th at their Connected Office Day event. Time will tell if they new incentives are good enough to propel them forward.
Labels: 3Com, Cisco, D-Link, equipment buying, HP, lead generation, Linksys, market development, Netgear, network of partners, outside consultants
